Myth 1: “You have to wait until after the teeth are replaced to correct the teeth” The traditional idea is that orthodontics can only be done after the teeth are replaced, or even more specifically, that around the age of twelve is the best time for orthodontics. So, is there any scientific basis for such a statement? The answer is that it is basically correct but not a generalization, and this statement is not suitable for all cases. Because the development of each person’s jaw and teeth has a great individual variability, it is undeniable that the general malocclusion is more appropriate time to correct is about 12 years old (all replacement of milk teeth), but some people’s teeth replacement earlier, may be about ten years old all milk teeth, while some people may have to wait until the age of fourteen or fifteen years old, then the timing of the two treatments will be a difference of three or four years. Furthermore, the anterior teeth of the anterior malocclusion, commonly known as the “periosteum” in childhood, should be intervened as early as possible, the earliest can start from the age of 3 to 5 years old, before the bony deformity has not yet appeared, a simple orthodontic appliances in two or three months will work; to the age of 6 years old after the tooth replacement period for the lack of mandibular development of “small” deformity, the jaw is not enough to develop. After 6 years of age, for “small chin” deformity with underdeveloped jaw, the earlier the correction, the better. Through functional orthopedics (usually implemented at the age of 8-10 years old), some patients can be corrected facial deformity, if delayed until after the age of 12 years old, the effect of facial orthopedics will be greatly reduced. However, in some cases, it is better to correct the deformity later: for example, for serious jaw deformity caused by heredity, such as “huge chin” or small jaw like bird’s beak, it is not much improvement only by correcting the teeth, and this kind of patients can only wait until they are adults to do the facial plastic surgery. So, how can you roughly determine the best time for orthodontic treatment? Under normal circumstances, if you just have misaligned teeth that look harmonized on the side, then you may want to see your doctor after you change your teeth. There are also some temporary misalignments that can occur during tooth replacement, including: mild crowding, gaps between incisors, and deep bites. Parents should not be concerned when they see these conditions. As your child grows gradually, these misalignments will disappear or ease, so there is no need for orthodontic treatment. Because there are many causes of malocclusion and they manifest themselves in different ways, the best time to correct them varies. But if you miss the best time to correct, later if you correct, one is the technical complexity of the course of treatment to grow, the effect of correction greatly reduced, the second is likely to encounter more trouble, the most serious, the time to miss, may be the best orthodontist also “lack of action”. Therefore, the timing of orthodontic intervention varies from person to person! For you, the best choice is to consult an orthodontist earlier and listen to professional advice. Myth 2: “I’m so old can still be orthodontic” Many people believe that orthodontic treatment is the patent of children and young people, the middle-aged and elderly people can only sigh “born at the wrong time”, in fact, this view is one-sided. The biological mechanism of tooth movement is the alteration of alveolar bone, even if it is an adult, the alteration capacity of the bone still exists, so to speak, age is not the key, as long as the periodontal conditions permit, adult orthodontics is not a dream. There is no essential difference in the results of a proper orthodontic force in moving the healthy teeth of a 60 year old adult and a 12 year old child. This is well illustrated by the fact that the number of adult orthodontists in developed countries in Europe and the United States accounts for more than 1/3 of all orthodontic patients. It is true that at an older age, the orthodontic forces should be softer, the intervals between the application of force should be longer, and the pain and discomfort may be more pronounced. Myth 3: “Orthodontic pain can only drink porridge” “Orthodontic pain”, as if the nightmare haunts every “prospective” orthodontic patients, many of which are “forward-looking”. Looking forward and backward” patients hesitate to take the first step in orthodontics, most of the reasons are because of the fear of pain. In fact, the most difficult orthodontic on the “braces” after the first week, after each follow-up after the force, the patient’s teeth will have two or three days of mild pain or weakness (adult feeling will be more obvious), these minor discomfort can be tolerated by ordinary people and will soon disappear, is a normal reaction, no need to be overly concerned. With the deepening of the concept of fine wire and light force orthodontic treatment and low friction orthodontic system: such as self-locking brackets and the development of softer orthodontic archwires, the solution to the “dead end” of orthodontics – pain – is just around the corner, and the orthodontic patients will have the feeling of “pain and happiness”. The days of “pain and pleasure” for orthodontic patients are coming to an end. As for the diet, during the orthodontic period can not eat hard things such as (bones, nuts, hard candies) and very sticky (chewing gum, etc.) things, must avoid too cold and too hot stimulation, generally after the end of orthodontic treatment can be a normal diet. Myth 4: “I can not pull out the teeth ah” Chinese people often have “hair and skin received by the parents, can not go lightly” belief, therefore, many adult patients or children’s families (especially the elderly) are often on the extraction of orthodontic treatment as a “flood and beast”, and the treatment can be considered as a “flood and beast”, and the treatment can be considered as a “flood and beast”. Floods and fierce beasts”, think “a good tooth pulled out what a pity”, some parents even and the doctor “bargaining”: “can not pull a few ah? Some parents even bargained with the doctors: “Can you extract fewer teeth?” Some parents even bargained with the doctor: “Can you extract fewer teeth? Some parents heard hearsay that tooth extraction will affect chewing, memory and even IQ. Some patients are unwilling to endure the pain of cutting “teeth” and “far from the orthodontic”. In fact, this is too much to worry about, due to the evolution of mankind and the change of food structure, modern people’s jawbone is often not enough to accommodate all the teeth (most of the manifestations of overcrowding or buck teeth), then, through the extraction of the teeth to provide a gap, the teeth to re-arrangement or buck teeth for some patients with the protruding incisors, to improve the face shape. In addition, from the orthodontic history of more than 100 years at home and abroad, there is no obvious harm in extractions compared to non-extraction orthodontics. Whether to extract or not to extract has to be a combination of various factors: for example, facial shape, crowding, centerline, molar relationship and so on. It can be said that “wield the sword, cut off the remaining teeth”, there is a “pay” to have a “harvest”. Myth 5: “I’m afraid that after orthodontic teeth, teeth chewing powerless, easy to loose in old age” Some parents understand orthodontic teeth movement as a simple physical and mechanical movement, worried that orthodontics will cause loose teeth in old age, or even early off, this point of view is unscientific. A regular orthodontic treatment is a reasonable biological remodeling process, which induces bone resorption on one side of the teeth through light orthodontic force, and new bone reconstruction on the other side, and ultimately moves the teeth to the desired position. The process is gentle and gradual and the teeth are relatively stable. There is no difference between the orthodontic treatment and normal teeth, but we can’t rule out the possibility that some informal “violent orthodontists” may lead to root resorption, tooth loosening or even loss of teeth. Myth 6: “Can’t it be done faster?” Teeth can generally move about 1.5 millimeters per month, and too much force can lead to loosening of the teeth, or in severe cases, stagnation of the teeth. As the saying goes, “If you don’t want to go fast, you can’t go fast”. Generally speaking, depending on the severity of the individual misalignment and the orthodontic appliances, the course of treatment is different, usually about 1.5-2.5 years. Many patients can not accept such a long course of treatment, some doctors or patients in order to shorten the time, do not follow the scientific law, exert too much orthodontic force, the result of this “pulling the seedling to grow” practice is to make the patient’s pain worse, tooth looseness increases, the serious case will cause orthodontic tooth loss. Myth 7: “Orthodontics is very simple, who is cheaper I find who do” Orthodontics is a very rigorous and complex treatment process, orthodontics is a re-education after graduation from undergraduate school. Ordinary dentists only after specialized orthodontic institutions for at least 1 year of training, obtained the qualification of orthodontist to be competent. Each step of the orthodontic patient’s examination, diagnosis, development of a reasonable orthodontic plan, and even the entire orthodontic process, is critical. We often come across some cases of orthodontic failure, such as pulling out the wrong teeth or delayed treatment timing, poor orthodontic results, bite disorders, etc. These losses are irreparable. Therefore, we suggest our patients to choose carefully and try to choose qualified orthodontists from regular medical institutions to complete the orthodontic treatment. China has already established specialist physician qualification certification in the field of orthodontics, which helps standardize the development of the industry. Many people think that orthodontic treatment is the patent of children and young people, the middle-aged and old people can only contend with the “bad time”, in fact, this view is one-sided. The biological mechanism of tooth movement is the alveolar bone alteration, even for adults, the bone internal alteration ability still exists, so to speak, age is not the key, as long as the periodontal conditions permit, adult orthodontic not a dream. There is no essential difference in the results of a proper orthodontic force in moving the healthy teeth of a 60 year old adult and a 12 year old child. This is well illustrated by the fact that the number of adult orthodontists in developed countries in Europe and the United States accounts for more than 1/3 of orthodontic patients. It is true that at an older age, the force should be softer, the intervals between force application should be longer, and the pain and discomfort may be more pronounced.